Khudairi, Undersecretary of Makkah Mayoralty, has suggested the use of modern technology to track dangerous fugitives. Addressing a recent workshop at the Bureau of Makkah Mayoralty here, the official said that ten percent of court verdicts have not been carried out due to the lack of coordination between the concerned authorities. Of the 23,141 guilty verdicts handed down, 2,812 persons have evaded punishment, he said. “We want to evaluate the current mechanism and suggest new measures to ensure court verdicts are executed in the region and that justice prevails,” Al-Khudairi was quoted as saying by Al-Hayat Arabic daily. In a PowerPoint presentation, Jeddah Governorate Traffic Department explained how security cameras can be used to track down criminals. Makkah Mayoralty talked about its experience of using cameras in the holy city. The workshop was aimed at developing a state-of-the-art tracking system based on mechanisms used worldwide. The system will use available information to speed up the tracking of criminals and those wanted by the police. It could also be used to locate and deport illegal immigrants and put an end to cases registered by unknown perpetrators. The department responsible for the execution of court verdicts in Makkah Mayoralty studied obstacles impeding its work. The study shows many wanted persons keep a low profile by changing addresses frequently, and cannot be tracked down easily. Security forces sometimes apprehend suspects by phone tapping; however this technique is only useful if the cell phone is registered in the name of the wanted persons. The study suggested that the Saher system could play a role in locating suspect vehicles and that it could alert the nearest checkpoint authorities. CCTV cameras installed by the Makkah Mayoralty could use face recognition technologies to recognize wanted persons. The cameras may be linked with the National Information Center (NIC) as well. Other studies recommended that residents update their addresses at the NIC and that this process should be compulsory. They also suggested a mechanism to register lease contracts at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and link the chamber with the NIC. District chiefs could play a role in this process and penalties should also be imposed on violators.
